A Ranger of the North
by kodamamochi
Summary: Elendra has set out on a separate mission than that of the Fellowship but meets up with her friend's in an unfortunate turn of events. Now, having made a promise to her dying friend, the woman Ranger of the North seeks out her friend's brother and finds herself traveling with him and training his men. Rated M just in case
1. Fall of Boromir

Elendra sat in silence under the heavy veil of night near the Fall of Rauros remembering the events of the last 12 hours; the last moments of Boromir son of Denethor II.

She had been on a separate mission than of that of the fellowship, having been delayed two days in Fanghorn, fighting off orcs who had wandered into the forest from Isengard. The Ents were ever so thankful for her aid in those matters.

Although she was on a time sensitive journey to relay a message to the steward of Gondor for aid in the upcoming war against the dark lord, Elendra felt her allegiance was to nature first. Having been found as child by Tom Bombadil, she was a child of nature.

Still, she could not stay in Fanghorn long, even after seeing the army of Saruman grow stronger. It pained her to see the forest decimated but she knew that in order to save it, she had to complete her task bestowed upon her by Gandalf the Grey and Lord Elrond.

Being a Ranger and daughter of Man herself, she was the most fit for the job. Gandalf had hoped the steward would heed her warning and join the fight for Middle Earth.

The day they left Rivendell it pained Elendra to part ways with her kin. She was not related to neither Aragorn nor Boromir; however, they might as well have been.

Aragorn had been her travelling companion for many ventures; they would constantly run into one another in the wild. He called their common meet-ups fate, that a string had been tied to their souls. Elendra called it coincidence. She was aware of his royal lineage, but she treated him like an older brother, nonetheless.

Boromir, although very stubborn and hot-headed, was a good man. The love he had for his people was unlike anything she had ever seen. She had met him halfway on his way to Rivendell while she was scouting the wood for corruption. Lord Elrond had to her that he expected the younger brother to come and represent Man. Boromir had only mentioned the reason of his departure in passing; it had seemed he did not want to speak of his father's decision.

Nevertheless, they had ventured past the Misty Mountains together and arrived at Rivendell where the Fellowship of the Ring was created. She had no part in it, nor did she desire to but knowing the extreme danger of the task of bringing the ring to Mordor, Elendra could not help but suggest to the wizard that she go with them.

"To the eye of Sauron, you are but a mere traveler. He has no reason to stalk you." Said Gandalf to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You must be the one to relay the message to Gondor of the oncoming war. Théoden of Rohan is another matter to be dealt with. I need the speed of your horse and the strength of your faith to gather the men of Middle Earth in this one endeavor."

After her small purging of Fanghorn, Elendra found herself passing a wooded hill by the Anduin river around Amon Hen on her black mare, Nyx.

All was quiet but the slow stench of Uruk-hai filled the road. She proceeded with caution, steering off the road a little. Then the air filled with an alarming sound coming from within the wood: the horn of Gondor.

Elendra stopped. She desperately looked around and focused everything into her hearing. The fellowship was near but not in good spirits.

Then she urged Nyx to follow the sound as fast as she could. Not a minute later, after delving into the wood, orcs appeared. They were scattered like maggots on a corpse. Elendra drew her bow, steadying herself on her galloping mare, shooting down each orc in her way.

The horn sounded one last time from the South. Nyx strategically maneuvered her way around fallen orcs and standing trees towards the sound.

Then the orcs around her began to retreat. She knew it wasn't because they saw her as a threat. She was clearly outnumbered. It must have been something else. They got what they came for. Elendra feared the worst but she tried to push those thoughts out of her mind.

She came upon a clearing, bodies scattered, but one standing. Its back facing her, but she could see a kneeling Boromir in front of it, vulnerable to an arrow staring him in the face.

Elendra stifled a scream and shot at the orc, hitting its drawn arm causing it to miss Boromir. It turned to her and roared. She jumped off of Nyx and angrily drew her two-handed sword after swinging her bow across her back.

The Uruk-hai leader shot an arrow at her but she deflected it with her sword. She ran up to it and swung at the monster, but it dodged and reached for a sword. Elendra kicked it in the chest before it could swing, pushing it down to the floor. It left itself wide open for her to stab it in the abdomen and twist her sword to finish it.

Believing it was dead, Elendra ran over to a panting Boromir after throwing down her sword, almost slipping on the forest floor's collection of dead leaves and orc blood.

"Ele-," he struggled, "Elendra?" Neither could believe their eyes. He had been pierced with many arrows; blood trickled down his chin from his gaping mouth. He hadn't seen her since parting ways outside of Rivendell.

She was never one to cry in the presence of a dying companion believing it would bring them solace regarding the new path they would soon follow but this was different.

"Shh-I'm going to help you," she whispered. Her voice quivered. She looked down at his punctured body then at his fading eyes.

"They took the little ones," he cried. Elendra placed one hand on his neck and the other pushed back some loose strands of hair stuck to his face with sweat.

"Frodo?"

"No. Frodo ran off… I went after the ring," his tone was dripping in guilt. Elendra shut her eyes, fighting back tears. "That doesn't mean anything," she said. "Come on," she was about to get up when he kept her down with a weak grip.

"Go to my brother, you must be the one to tell him."

Elendra shook her head, refusing to accept this turn of events. "We-we'll see him together. You've been wanting to introduce me, remember?" She tried to give him a smile; her eyes burned more with every second.

Tears rolled down his cheeks. "You must tell him. I trust no one else to. Take my horn to him."

The horn had been broken in two; she could imagine Faramir's heart would be the same if she were to show him before even saying anything.

He brushed his shaking hand across her cheek, wiping a tear or two away, "Please, friend. See to it that he is protected and lives to see his old years." She gripped his hand, hoping she could pull him from the darkness.

Elendra had been too caught up in her emotions to notice the orc had creeped up behind her, still alive only to have been beheaded by Aragorn.

She gazed up at her king with tears in her eyes, holding Boromir close. The look she gave Aragorn was that of desperation. His healing hands could do nothing for Boromir now.

Elendra felt a hole in her chest. Of all the dreams she had ever dreamt, this nightmare had to be the one to manifest itself. There must have been something she could do. For some reason, there was that desperate cling to hope she had always had but this time, it felt as if she was reaching for it in the dark; it was slipping away.

Aragorn stumbled down onto his knees next to Boromir's other side. Aragorn had looked awful; clothes torn, skin caked with dirt, tired eyes that had tears in them.

Aragorn had to let Frodo go which led Boromir to believe that he had failed to do what Aragorn could. "Take care of your people," Boromir's strength was fading. He held the hilt of his sword across his chest with the last of his might, pledging allegiance to Aragorn, as his captain, as his king.

Legolas and Gimli stood a distance from the children of Men. Elendra kept her eyes on Boromir until he drew his last breath as did Aragorn. Elendra hadn't noticed that she had been holding her breath the whole time until he let go. The image of the two Rangers gazing down at their fallen brother in their arms would forever be instilled in the minds of the elf and the dwarf.

Elendra closed Boromir's eyes and kissed them, resting her forehead on his cheek and crying into his neck. "Be at peace, son of Gondor." Aragorn whispered, kissing Boromir's forehead.

Elendra was at least grateful to give her friend a proper "burial" but letting go of the boat with Boromir's body laying in it was like giving up the search for hope in the dark that she had been reaching out in.

What had made everything worse was finding out from Legolas that Gandalf had not made it out of Moria. A Balrog of Morgoth. The darkness of the world had been manifesting itself all too quickly. Elendra felt she had to do everything she could to stop it.

She especially felt encouraged when Aragorn had strapped on Boromir's vambraces on his own forearms. The Ranger of Dunedain took his first steps to accepting his fate of his bloodline.

Frodo was let go, but Elendra felt comfort in knowing that Sam was there with him. Merry and Pippin had to be found, though.

"Still don't think it is our fate to cross paths like this?" asked Aragorn with sad eyes. Elendra shook her head slightly, "This… was a sad coincidence. I'd rather not meet like this again."

The Ranger placed a hand on her shoulder, knowing they would have to go separate ways again. She looked up at him with determined eyes, still red from weeping for Boromir.

He then pulled her into a brotherly embrace.

"But if you're still alive, I'd very much like to see you again no matter the circumstance," she whispered, taking in his presence for one last time in a long while. This quest was much different than others they had been on.

Elendra returned to her current state, sitting alone in the darkness all too close to Mordor. Well, she wasn't all alone. She had Nyx and the natural world around her to protect and keep her company.

**A/N:**

**Hello fellow LotR fans (or stans, if you wish; idk how to use that word tbh) and fellow fanfic readersss; it has definitely been SO long since I have posted ANYTHING on here and I rarely keep up with my own damn stories but I have finally come around to jot down some day-dreams that I have been dealing with since first laying eyes on David Wenham's Faramir when I was a youngling all those years ago (such a dreamy guy omigosh). Sure, he's more of a jerk in the Two Towers' film adaptation than he is in the book BUT I'm still going to go off of the movie with slight variations, obviously. I may make him a little nicer than he was when he dealt with Gollum, Frodo, and Sam. IDK, we shall see. **

**Obviously LotR is not mine. I am not the great J.R.R. Tolkien nor am I Peter Jackson. Just a 20-something woman with a laptop and daydreams. Elendra and Nyx are my only characters along with some random extra oc's.**

**Rating this M just in case lmao please enjoy! **


	2. Don't Thank Me Yet

Elendra had been roaming the borders of the realms of Gondor and Rohan for about two days along the Great River.

Now having a new task of finding Faramir, Elendra made way for Osgiliath. She had last heard that he had been assigned to the task of keeping the ruins from falling into the enemy's possession.

Across the river from where she walked was the home of the Rangers of Ithilien. She had hoped they would be able to help her on her quest; Elendra had no time for roaming around the lands that were under the shadow of the Dark Lord aimlessly.

Soon she found a rough way to cross the river. Rangers from all over Middle Earth had ways of helping each other by having stones to meet up at or hiding boats near rivers in case of a need to cross one.

Little things like this reminded her that she was never alone and always protected.

Although it proved a bit awkward to get Nyx along the river in the boat, Elendra finally made it the outskirts of Nindalf (somehow more drenched than the mare), not far from the bordering mountains of Mordor where Ithilien was.

The trees were quiet, and any sign of animal life had been reduced down to maybe a couple of rats. No birds sang in this mid-morning and the breeze died down significantly the further one got from the river.

She wasn't far from the Dead Marshes. The presence of Mordor engulfed the air like a cloud of smoke; Elendra even covered her nose and mouth with a black cloth under her hood to help her feel as if she wasn't breathing it in. Nyx wouldn't let Elendra ride her; she was too nervous but Elendra kept her close to her, leading her further towards Mordor.

Could she perhaps run into Frodo and Sam? She had hoped so. It made her sad to think of innocent halflings far from home passing through these wretched lands without a friendly guide.

Elendra hid her face under the hood of her cloak keeping her focus on the sounds of the wood. In the distance, sounds of marching and generals calling were heard. Those from the East? Armies to fight for Sauron, maybe.

Her thoughts were interrupted at the sudden sound of birds calling one another; obvious only to her that it wasn't real. She immediately turned around, drawing her sword and deflecting an arrow aimed at her back.

A Ranger of Ithilien manifested himself to her left, but she swung her leg at his feet, causing him to tumble over. She sheathed her sword.

Another jumped down from the tree above her with a knife. She dodged a swing and punched his hooded face.

Arrows swung past her and Nyx. She called out to her to run; the stubborn horse did no such thing. Instead, Nyx stood on her hind legs and swung her front hooves to make the rangers back off.

She had no intention of killing either of them for it would ruin her chances to talk but she had to get through five rangers to finally come head to head with the one who seemed to be the captain.

Before he was within a foot of her, she drew her bow and aimed his forehead. He stopped suddenly as did the rest of the rangers. Blue eyes watched her from under a green hood; the rest of his face covered by a green garment. Those eyes reminded her of someone.

She could hear the strings of three bows ready to finish her off, but she had their captain. Her gaze fixed on him.

"I am here for the aid of the Rangers of Ithilien," she announced. "I wish to not shed the blood of my kin this morning."

"You could be a servant of the Dark Lord for all I know. Why help you?" the captain said. Elendra had no patience for these ridiculous questions.

"I am looking for Faramir of Gondor. Have you any idea of his whereabouts?"

"What business have you with him?" he said with a forced authority in his tone.

Elendra held her breath. "I have urgent news for his ears only… regarding the eldest son of Gondor." She would rather not have to explain unless absolutely necessary, otherwise she would lose her composure.

The captain's eyes narrowed. He signaled for the rangers to lower their arrows. "What of Boromir?" His voice softened with genuine concern. Elendra raised an eyebrow at his knowledge of her friend's name.

He gazed down at her side where the split horn of Gondor hung on her belt with a rope secured around it in an attempt to hold it together.

He then drew his sword, Elendra tensed up and pulled back on the arrow even more.

"Who are you?" he demanded; anger rose in his voice. He must have believed she killed him.

They stood there in silence for a moment, the rangers back to their original stance of defense. A tense moment for all.

But before she could reply, incoming footsteps of a group of Haradrim soldiers grew louder and louder.

The rangers called to the captain for orders but before he could find the words, a Haradrim arrow shot through the trees at a ranger, who fell from his spot.

"It's an ambush!" yelled the captain. The rangers began a line of defense. The captain withdrew his attention from Elendra.

Elendra added two arrows to her bow and shot at three different Haradrim. She slapped Nyx's backside to urge her to go hide the opposite direction.

After her companion left, Elendra cut down four soldiers saving some rangers from a potential death blow.

As she tried to examine her surroundings, Elendra was pushed up against a tree by a larger soldier, choking her. She used her legs to push against his chest with all her might and with a free hand, took her own dagger and sliced his forearm off his body. The brute cried out and was immediately forced back, grabbing at what was left of his arm.

She fell to the ground, pushing off her hood and quickly regaining her footing for the large soldier wasn't finished with her yet. With his one good arm he swung at her with a large sword rather clumsily. She probably cut off his dominant hand.

Elendra dodged each blow, backing away from him but keeping her eyes on his next moves. She wouldn't be able to deflect his sword; he had more weight on him than she could handle. In moments in battle where she was lacking in strength she had to resort to more strategic solutions.

Luckily at that moment, someone distracted him with an arrow to his leg which didn't seem to hurt him as much as anger him. In that moment of diversion, Elendra somersaulted her way underneath the brute and stabbed his heart with all her might. The force of impact caused him to fall backwards. She swore she felt the earth quake after his fall.

Elendra took a moment for a breath and to acknowledge the soldiers' deaths. She wasn't too keen on killing those who were just following orders unless they were orcs. Orcs are trash.

She then looked up at whoever had helped her and found the captain with an emptied bow in his hand gazing at her in astonishment which turned into slight panic when Elendra readied her dagger to throw at him.

But its target was another: an unfortunate soldier attempting to attack him from behind.

He looked down at him then at her. The captain seemed all too surprised to see a woman with a long dark wavy mess of a mane and dark determined eyes kill a large brute and throw a dagger with such precision.

The Dunedain ranger walked up to the corpse to get her dagger back. The captain's men finally had the area under control. The rest of the Haradrim retreated. Luckily there wasn't a Mumakil, or as Sam would call it, an oliphaunt. She hated seeing animals slain in battle.

"Thank you," she said in a hushed tone, meeting his blue eyes.

He turned completely to her and stepped forward as if to thank her back, but he remembered the circumstances and his expression hardened. "Don't thank me, yet." He signaled to his rangers and before Elendra could comprehend his words, her arms were secured. She had noticed the men wrestling to get Nyx to submit to them. Elendra called to her in elvish, assuring her that everything will be fine but Elendra still struggled against the men holding her arms.

The captain removed the garment covering his mouth and pulled back his hood.

Her struggling ceased as she gazed upon the man in shock. His hair was shoulder length with loose waves and a light tint and his nose strong; something in his demeanor gave Elendra the impression of innocence and strength at the same time. It wasn't Boromir but the slight resemblance was there. No, this was an entirely different man.

"You will tell me what you know about my brother." He removed the horn of Gondor from her belt before they placed a sack on her head and bound her hands.


	3. Eyes that Mimic the Starry Night Sky

Although it was not a moment to be laughing in, Elendra found it amusing that they bind her and cover her face to hide their location, but she knew too well where the Rangers of Ithilien resided.

She took in the sounds of her surroundings. She stepped carefully yet with confidence as if she knew the way. Her connection to the wood allowed her to navigate through Middle Earth with her eyes closed.

Unfortunately, where she had strong connections with nature, she lacked in connection to her own kin. She couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed not knowing that she had pointed her arrow to the man she promised her dead friend she'd protect.

Sounds of water falling filled the air and the smell of running water cut through the musky rag on her head. The Forbidden Pool.

She heard the hoofbeats of her companion fade behind her as she entered what sounded like a cave. The bag was removed from her face. She looked around only with her eyes, keeping her head forward.

The cave, hidden by a waterfall, was busy with rangers and riddled with equipment, candles, barrels, and messy tables with food scraps and maps that were worn with knife holes and folding due to constant discussion of battle strategy.

Faramir stood in front of her with a pained look on his face as he held the horn.

Elendra kept her eyes on him for a moment, almost tearing up then looked down to the floor, not sure of how to explain or where to start. She could feel the pain radiating from his heart. This was the man that Boromir had held dear; so much so that his last words were of concern for him, his younger brother.

They stood in silence. Neither knew what to say. Elendra dared not begin.

He set the fragments of the horn down on a crummy table next to his sword. "Where is my brother?"

She kept her eyes on the ground and answered in a hushed tone, "Somewhere on the Anduin, finally at peace."

Her gaze crept up to his face, his mouth opened but no words came out, his eyes in pain. "Seeing how you fight; how do I know it wasn't you who cut down my brother in battle?"

She sighed. Faramir had been fighting the servants of the Dark Lord for far too long that he found it hard to trust anyone. Why would his brother's murderer come to him person to deliver the horn?

"If I were the one to have killed your brother, my blade would have met your heart. I never miss my target."

Faramir took a moment to recall the events of the ambush. Elendra had saved a handful of his rangers from an arrow to the heart and she had saved him from a death blow.

As he stood in contemplation, she had already freed her hands from the binds they had put her in. These men needed some training.

"Faramir," she said to him. His eyes shot to her. How did she know his name?

She handed a confused Faramir the ropes that bound him, "I am Elendra of the Lost Realm of Arnor, Ranger of the North, and daughter of the Old Forest; I made a promise to your brother, a dear friend of mine, that I would find you and be the one to bear you the news of his passing."

Their eyes held each other's gaze then Elendra turned around to leave, having completed her task, but Faramir grabbed her wrist to stop her. "The Elendra of Rivendell who my brother saved from the orcs of Isengard?"

Elendra was taken aback to the moment she and Boromir met when she had been spying on Isengard in an attempt to find Gandalf who was last seen visiting Saruman the White and answered in an annoyed tone, "For goodness—I didn't need saving, I had it under contro—" She stopped as she turned back to Faramir wondering where he had learned that.

He gave her a faint smile and walked over to a pile of bags, pulling out a worn-out letter. The son of Gondor held it up as proof then proceeded to fumble with the corners of the folded parchment, "Boromir wrote to me after he reached Rivendell; he wrote of many things: of the hospitality of the elves, of his newfound fellowship, and of one skilled headstrong woman ranger by the name of Elendra with eyes mimicking the starry night sky that could bring a whole army to their knees."

Elendra looked away, embarrassed yet flattered. It was strange to her that Boromir would write such words of her. "Typical of Boromir to write so recklessly about the nature of an important quest. If that letter had fallen into the wrong hands… always a risky one, that man," she said, ignoring the mention of her in the letter.

Faramir let out a small scoff and smiled but finally asked with his smile fading, "How did he die?"

"Uruk-hai. The very same he 'saved' me from," she said. The wave of regret that had left her came back to her. She was too late to save him. She couldn't return the favor. If only she had gotten there sooner. "I am sorry." She purposefully left out Boromir's desire for the ring which led him to feel he had to redeem himself by taking on so many orcs at once to protect Merry and Pippin.

Faramir stood tall but he looked very lonely. Boromir must have been his rock, his best friend.

She took a step to him with her hand almost extended but didn't know what she was going to do. She drew back her hand knowing she couldn't ease his pain. Only time could.

"Please stay as long as you need before setting out as an apology for the way I've treated you," he said, almost coldly, trying to hold back his emotions before taking a step about of the cave.


	4. We'd Better Set Out Soon

The day had already faded into early night by the time Faramir had believed who Elendra was.

Having stepped out of the cave through the waterfall by a small opening not covered by the water, Elendra found herself above the Forbidden Pool under the night sky lit up by the light of an almost full moon looming over the distant Misty Mountains.

Heading over to a barely-there rock surface on the wall of the pool, she overlooked a beautiful forested area, facing away from Mordor. The height at which she stood made her feel small yet connected to a bigger picture.

This gave her comfort even though she was so close to the dark lands of Mordor. The night was quiet save for the rushing waters of the small waterfalls around her. She breathed in the breeze that came with the altitude and the spray of water around her.

"Better than pipe-weed…," she said to herself as she took in her surroundings. She could almost hear Aragorn scoff at her remark, half agreeing to it.

Faramir stood by another entrance across the pool of the rangers' hideout looking up at the woman ranger. Mablung, one of Faramir's trusted guards apart from Anborn and Damrod, walked over to Faramir hoping to provide some counsel to the man who had just lost his brother.

"Sir, my deepest condolences for the loss of Captain Boromir."

Faramir was taken from his thoughts and gave Mablung a nod, "Thank you, Mablung…"

"Do you believe the words of this stranger?" Mablung asked, referring to Elendra. Faramir sighed.

"I dreamt that I saw a boat floating down the Anduin; it was carrying my brother who laid in peace. She came not a day after that dream. It is more than a coincidence…"

Silence followed.

Keeping his eyes on Elendra, Faramir spoke in a hushed tone so that only Mablung could hear, "Our men need more training."

"Sir?"

"It seems they know not how to properly take a prisoner or how to fight in close range." He handed the rope used to bind Elendra's hands to Mablung as he referred to the ambush that had occurred earlier.

"This single ranger from the North could take down more soldiers than three of our men could combined. One of them was even two times her size. Tell the men to start training harder. With any luck, she could help us."

Mablung gazed up at the ranger to whom Faramir referred and said rather connivingly, "Are you sure you're interested in just her fighting strategy?"

Faramir did not answer for a moment for he was distracted but realized all too late what the question was, making it appear that he confirmed the nature of Mablung's suggestive question. "W-what?"

The ranger smirked at him and changed the subject, patting Faramir's shoulder, "I'll let the men know, Captain Faramir."

Faramir gawked at his colleague then back at Elendra who had taken notice of his gaze. He didn't look away, but she did as she stepped away to lower ground, remembering her horse who had probably been confused all day in captivity.

She made it to where the ranger's kept their horses and saw the dark mare blending into the night yet standing out from the rest. A ranger who had been keeping watch of the horses tensed up as she walked over to her companion. He looked as if he was on his toes, ready to defend himself. She looked over to him, noticing his black eye. It was very fresh. Today fresh.

Elendra gave him a sympathetic smile and pointed to her eye as she rubbed Nyx's forehead with her other hand, "You get that from the Haradrim?"

"No, ma'am." The ranger did not seem he wanted to tell her who gave him the bruised eye.

Elendra then remembered punching the second ranger who had attempted to knock her down when they first came across her and she felt a tinge of guilt realizing that it was him. "Oh…," she raised her eyebrows and clenched her teeth in embarrassment, "my apologies."

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" The man, who looked more like a boy, asked hesitantly.

Elendra looked back to Nyx who nibbled at her hand. "What's your name?"

"Joris son of Thure."

"Well, Joris, it sure was not all at once. I learned as a result of my travels all over Middle Earth," she sighed, remembering her dear friend, Aragorn. She would sometimes practice her footwork with him or throw a punch or two at him which would turn into a wrestling match (rarely). "It was learning to fight or death, really."

The boy seemed discouraged. "But," she began, "I have a lot of help from the nature around me, giving me a warning of incoming enemies."

"How do you manage that? Get the natural world to speak to you, I mean."

Elendra gave out a 'hmm' and pressed her lips together, trying to find the words to explain to someone who had not spent their short youth in the company of Tom Bombadil, master of the wood, water, and hill.

"By listening, I suppose. The natural world around us has as much a language as anyone else does." She realized she wasn't much of help seeing the look of confusion on the young man's face.

"Do you think you could provide some tips?" He asked.

Before Elendra could answer, a voice called out drawing her attention from him. "Thoris," Faramir called out; Thoris regained his posture and answered, "Yes, Captain Fararmir?"

Faramir walked up to the company of two with a cool swagger (Author's note: yes, you read that right—swagger).

"Mablung has an announcement to make to the men up in the second cave. I'd hurry if I were you."

"Yes, Captain," the boy said immediately then looked at Elendra who smiled at him before he obediently left his post.

Elendra moved her sights to Faramir and noticed the White Tree of Gondor pressed upon this leather tunic in a silver tint. It reminded her of the task that Gandalf had given her. She could not stay in Ithilien for long.

"That horse of yours is a loyal companion; any other would have not come back after that ambush," he said.

Elendra smiled at Nyx and said, "Nyx, although very loyal to me and me to her, does not belong to me. Creatures don't belong to anybody save for themselves."

Faramir stepped over to the black mare and grazed her mane. "A beautiful sentiment."

Elendra gazed at the captain, half-expecting he needed something from her. She suppressed the urge to move the strands of hair from his face to examine it further. She didn't want to compare him to Boromir, but he was his brother and bore similar characteristics to him that made her want to hold him in her arms once more, feeling that their last goodbye was too soon.

Their eyes met. Faramir held the gaze that she didn't take note of for she was deep in thought, examining his face out of curiosity. He felt vulnerable.

Then he looked at a different direction and took a deep breath. "The next company of Haradrim arrives when the moon is new. At least, that is what past patterns indicate. They make advances in the deepest dark of the night.

Elendra snapped out of her thought and remembered the full moon. "That's in over a fortnight," she stated as-a-matter-of-factly. She waited for the question she knew he'd ask.

"Is there somewhere you must be within that time?"

She turned to him completely, Nyx's head in between them, minding her own business, occasionally grabbing a bite of grass.

"I have urgent business with your father regarding the war that is to come."

Faramir raised his hand to his chin to think.

She continued on, "The free people of Middle Earth need to join in the fight once more against the Dark Lord."

He rubbed his short beard. "My father is very stubborn; if you leave now or a fortnight from now, he will spend valuable time denying you and will wait until the very last minute to give you an answer you wish to hear. Besides," he said in a sullen tone, "news of Boromir's death will overshadow your request. He will be devastated…" Faramir showed more concern for his father than Boromir ever did. Boromir never mentioned him; especially not as much as he mentioned Faramir.

"I must try, or everything will be for naught," she said with a determined voice. If she ignores her request, then she will have diverged from the Fellowship for no reason and her inability to save Boromir would have been in vain. She needed to complete her quest or die trying.

Faramir raised an eyebrow at her. The fire in her eyes was evident, even in the dark of night under the canopy of trees. "I have a proposition then," he said.

"Seeing as it is now my official duty, by default, to make sure Osgiliath is kept safe from the orcs of Mordor after my brother and I fought hard to see it that way," he stopped, then continued, almost confidently, "and you need to meet my father in Gondor as soon as possible…"

She completed his thought, "You want to come with me to Gondor."

"The news of Boromir's passing would fall to me to give; I trust he will take his grief out on me, giving you a better chance of relaying your message."

Elendra did not think of telling Boromir's father anything. Of course, he had the right to know of his son's death, but she had failed to consider him for some reason.

"Of course, I'll need to check on Osgiliath first then it's back to Ithilien for us."

"Us?"

"You've provided a much-needed reality check for me today in various ways. One of them being the state of my men's ability to fight."

Elendra said nothing.

"If you'd be willing," he stepped closed to her, "I would appreciate it very much if you could help me train our men to better fight."

There it was. The question she knew he'd ask. She scoffed a bit and said, "I doubt your _men_ would take fighting advice from a woman."

"Man, woman, elf, dwarf: this is all our fight." She had nothing to say to that. "We all need to band together."

"Leaving for Gondor will shorten the time in which we can train," she pointed out.

Faramir stepped away from her and headed for the Forbidden Pool's entrance and said with a half-smile Elendra thought she saw, "Then we'd better set out soon."


	5. To Osgiliath

Elendra and Faramir had set out for Osgiliath barely before the first light of dawn which was slightly risky but the way to Osgiliath was just about an entire day's ride that would lead them well into the night upon arrival.

Before leaving, Elendra came across Joris who had been silent in helping prepare the horses for their travel. She assured him that she would be back which made the boy smile at himself, knowing that she would train him when she returned.

Winter had been almost as harsh in the South as it was in the North, West of the Misty Mountains. The season was almost to an end but felt as though it was at its peak and there to stay. The only explanation was that Sauron's influence had been emanating from Mordor more and more every day. Elendra needed to see the Steward of Gondor as soon as possible.

After embarking on the day's journey, Faramir and Elendra trotted along in silence. Faramir led the way on his lightly packed horse, his back to Elendra who kept her eyes on the back of his head, thinking.

She could sense Faramir had been keeping up appearances which made her not want to strike conversation. He had just found out that his only brother had died and now he was on his way to tell his father of the grave news and judging from either brother's lack of mention of their father, Faramir's uneasiness was understandable.

Elendra had been wondering so much about Faramir's position that she had failed to consider the now even more difficult task ahead of her: to convince the Steward of Gondor to fight for Middle Earth after he has learned of one of his sons' passing. Should she tell him before Faramir tells him? Would that be cruel, to omit the news of his son's death to get him to hear her out?

She tried to put herself in Denethor's shoes, thinking of how he would react to any call for help in such a dark moment. If it were her, she'd be resistant to anyone's requests and drowning in grief but at the same time, a Steward has the responsibility to be strong for his people. A time for mourning must wait.

And surely, he would find solace in his other son. Not all hope is lost. He still has Faramir. From what Boromir had mentioned to Elendra of Faramir, he seemed to be a noble brother; a man with a strong moral compass and compassion; a good man. Elendra assumed that Boromir's death, although a devastating blow to both Faramir and Denethor, would bring them closer together as a family.

Of course, she suspected that something was off. People were more complex than the things that should be, especially their relationships.

"What was the purpose of this 'Fellowship?'" Faramir asked, pulling Elendra from her thoughts. He glimpsed back at her as his horse trotted on forward.

She blinked and took a moment to answer. Boromir hadn't mentioned the Fellowship's purpose in the letter? Or the ring? Or of their mission to escort the ring bearer to destroy it? She had to watch what she said, then. It wasn't right to speak of it, especially so close to Mordor and out in the wild.

She couldn't think of an answer that would satisfy him without letting him know of the nature of the Fellowship, so she stayed silent after taking too long to say anything.

Faramir looked back her again. A solemn look was on her face, gazing into thought then to him.

"You do not know, or you do not wish to tell me." He then faced forward.

She asked Nyx to trot faster, catching up to Faramir's side. "It is not my quest to speak of… please understand," she said to him only he nodded once. It was difficult to not be able to get answers from a person who knows what his brother was doing in his last days and for what purpose specifically.

What Faramir did know was that Boromir was sent to Rivendell as per his father's demand in order to procure the weapon of the enemy: the one Ring. The thing that confused him was this Fellowship's purpose and if it truly had something to do with the Ring. And what had this female ranger truly have to do with his death? Now knowing that she was not a part of the Fellowship, what role did she play?

Elendra did not know any of Faramir's suspicions or that he even had the knowledge of the Ring being found.

She only knew Faramir from conversation with Boromir about his home.

"I am sorry," she said taking a moment. "But know that Boromir did not do anything against his will." She felt she needed to say that if not anything else. The ring ultimately had no influence on his true self. He overcame its allure redeeming himself in fighting for the lives of his friends.

Elendra's mind wandered to Boromir's last moments and she could feel her chest get cold. She could hear the voice in the back of her mind yell that it wasn't fair, that maybe if she could go back in time to stop it. Of course she could not, yet the 'what-if' questions somehow gave her some sliver of fool's hope in overcoming the pain of his death.

She scrunched her eyebrows and took a deep breath in an attempt to push away those useless thoughts.

The two rangers reached a rockier terrain with more hills to climb. Nyx maneuvered the obstacles gracefully even though she had never taken this route before. Fararmir's horse was all too familiar with a small path of worn out grass amongst the terrain. Nyx was weary of paths for fear of being traced.

Over the hilly terrain, Osgiliath was in view. Elendra stopped at the top of the hills to take it in.

The sky ahead of them was darker than the sky behind them. Under the gloom, between the White City and the red hue of Mount Doom, lay a city in ruin. The remnants of a once bustling civilization. The river that runs through it was devoid of life. No trees were around, no contrast of color; just a grayscale.

Faramir was steps ahead when he noticed that she had stopped. Her expression said too much.

"It is not as enchanting as Rivendell but it is welcoming all the same, despite it's… bleek first impression," Faramir said to her.

She glimpsed at him and, to her surprise, was reminded of the colors of Middle Earth again. Although she did not answer his remark, she could not help but feel slightly anxious upon entering the realm of Gondor.

Elendra pulled her hood low over her head before urging Nyx to move on. She had been away from the realm of Man for too long; the last time she was in the realm of Man, the thought of a female ranger did not settle in their minds too well.


	6. Unexpected Impression

Elendra and Faramir finally reached the city of ruin that was Osgiliath.

One man at his post on the West side of Osgiliath on a barely there look out tower shouted that Faramir had returned.

Movement and shouting could be heard from outside the fallen/falling structures.

Men rushed to the two rangers to help them with their horses. Faramir hopped off of his horse first then went to Elendra to help her down from Nyx as a force of habit when in a woman's presence. He caught himself before extending his hand, becoming aware that he probably looked strange as he suddenly walked up to Nyx for what looked like no reason.

Elendra gave him a strange look and continued to dismount Nyx. Some men eagerly gathered around them, others remained at their posts or were transporting materials from one pile of bricks to the other.

Her black mare garnered some attention. Of the black horses left in Middle Earth the majority were servants of Mordor; Rohan kept not even a handful amongst their own. Nyx was one of those poor ostracized creatures that Elendra connected with.

Faramir spoke to the man who was left in charge of the soldiers within with a grim tone. No doubt he had questions about the stranger dressed in weathered clothes who arrived with Faramir. From her lack of bright green and tan leather on her person, she was definitely not an Ithilien Ranger.

Elendra ignored his and everyone else's stares and grabbed her necessities (knives, forest drinking water, etc.) from Nyx's saddlebags before they took her settle in with her brethren. She spoke to her horse in Elvish, reminding her of the 'safe' space that they are in but nevertheless to stay alert.

Now there was more chatter among the lingering soldiers about her. Perhaps this was an Elf? What would an Elf be doing in Osgiliath? Did Faramir come with their aid? Was there a bigger battle coming their way?

Faramir looked around and reminded the men of their duties to send them away.

"Let us speak somewhere more private," he said to the man and signaled Elendra to follow.

Walking through the city was even more nerve wracking. Elendra stepped as lightly as she could and kept her hands to herself in fear of starting an avalanche of brick and Man.

Faramir looked back at her as they stepped through broken corridors and noticed her extreme caution and tense figure. He could not help but let out a small laugh. As quiet and cool as she was, in that moment she looked like a curious and innocent pup.

"These walls are sturdier than they look," he said to her in a louder tone, trying to speak over the noise of shouting commands from other soldiers.

She looked up at him, embarrassed, and scurried along through a wide set of doors into a not-so-private room, but a room nonetheless.

"Madril, this is Elendra," Faramir said to the man. "She was the one who bore the news of Boromir to me. Elendra, this Madril. He is second-in-command and aids me in overseeing the duties of Osgiliath and Ithilien."

Madril raised an eyebrow in interest when Faramir said 'she.' Elendra hesitantly pulled her hood back to reveal her face. "Hello," she said. He scanned her face and gave her a sad smile, "It is a pleasure to meet you, though I do wish the circumstances were a bit different."

Although she had expected a different response, she nodded her head slightly.

"She has another message for my father from Rivendell. The free people need to mobilize against Mordor," Faramir explained. Madril let out a deep breath from his nose as if he had been holding his breath until this moment.

"And you think your father will want to listen to anyone after you tell him about Boromir?" Madril asked.

Faramir didn't say anything to that. He turned to Elendra with his arms crossed.

"We'll head to the city at dawn. I have some things to settle here," he said to her before walking out of the room with a pensive look.

Madril took Elendra around the western part of the city, since the eastern part had fallen into the hands of the orcs a while back. Although she did get stared at as she strolled around, they weren't looks of discomfort or confusion; there were more of interest and curiosity.

From what she had gathered from her walk with Madril, the soldiers of Gondor were not as they were expected to be. Even the Rohirrim had more life in them than these soldiers. Perhaps being this close to Mordor takes a toll on morale.

Somehow, Elendra had become convinced that being a part of a large group of people such as a tribe of very similar people, all from the same background, was correlated with the mundaneness that is commonly found among the world of Man.

Walking among them convinced her of that more but she had to catch herself. She had spent too much time with elves and forest folk. They were not the most rude beings but they certainly have many (unfortunate) things to say about Men.

In her time of travel, their words turned out to be true: the realm of Gondor was corrupt, close-mind, and selfish. It had been over 15 years since she had last visited this realm; it was a very brief visit.

Madril escorted her over to an area where some soldiers gathered on their breaks. A fire pit was lit with a cauldron hanging over it. Under the cover of night, it was a small yet strong light source for the men.

Elendra was invited for a cup of broth and a conversation.

"Don't worry, we don't bite," said one soldier after taking notice of her reluctance, "Well, at least most of us don't," he continued with a short laughter from the men joining in.

She graciously took the shoddy wooden cup and joined them, sitting next to Madril who leaned on a broken piece of wall already downing his portion.

"So…," began a soldier sitting across from Elendra, "what is an elf doing in a ruined city alongside a son of Gondor?"

Elendra looked at him with a blank stare. "Elf? I am not an elf."

A couple of men had a sudden look of realization as if they had been wondering that since their arrival.

"Then surely you must have been brought up by elves. Apart from your elvish words you walk with the elegance of the elves and bear a resemblance to their kind."

"Reminds me of those wood-elves," another one said.

"She would have come from that far?"

"Didn't Captain Boromir go that far? To the elvish realms?"

"He was sent to Rivendell, which is to the west of Mirkwood, over the Misty Mountains."

"Did you run into him, milady?"

Elendra watched as their conversation steered elsewhere and didn't answer. They took that as a no, thankfully. They probably thought she wouldn't know what he would look like let alone know him. She hadn't the guts to tell them of Boromir.

"He is special, that one. Just like his brother."

"Yes, true heroes of Gondor."

"Captain Boromir and Faramir led us well in securing this part of the city from the orcs. Under their leadership, great things are surely in store for us."

"I do wonder when Captain Boromir will return. I'm sure the elves don't have great meade like we do."

The men laughed, happily reminiscing about their captain. Elendra's soup suddenly lost its flavor.

Other than Elendra and Faramir, Madril was the only one who knew. He sat with an empty cup and glanced over at Elendra who managed to avoid answering their questions.

Madril looked up from her to someone behind her who then sat down next to Elendra.

It was Faramir. He let out a sigh of relief as he finally sat down after a long day of riding. He and Elendra locked eyes, both of them empty, then he looked at her less than half finished cup of soup. He took it from her, somehow knowing she had lost her appetite.

She was taken aback by his gesture; it was something Boromir did when they were on their way to Rivendell when she was anxious. He specifically did it on one of their last nights in Rivendell before the fellowship left.

Boromir knew Elendra was scared for him because of the way he reacted at the council but he had reassured her that he would follow Frodo anywhere if that is what must be done; that she had nothing to worry about concerning the ring's influence.

Faramir had no appetite for food either but he nonetheless drank the soup. He had decided to wait to tell his father until he let everyone else know. Right now, he thought, let them remember Boromir as he was: alive.

"Oh, you still haven't told us where you are from," one of the men said to Elendra.

Elendra snapped out of her thoughts and answered without thinking, "Ah, Eriador."

"Eriador?!"

She nodded her head with a blank look. One man scanned her up and down. "I've heard stories; those of Men from the North clad, grimly, in dark green cloaks, descendants of the Dúnedain, you know: royal folk."

Some men began to whisper amongst themselves. The night had settled in along with a sharp cold wind.

"Grimly? Do I really look so bad?" she said garnering a laugh from the group. He reassured her he didn't mean it that way. She gave the man a smile; Faramir saw her and almost choked on his soup.

Another younger boy joined in, "So, you must be blessed with long life then, like the sons of the steward. That's what the stories say of Dúnedain descendants."

Elendra didn't give a hint of reaction. It would be awkward to relay her age to these young men. They looked older than her but she was definitely older than them or equaling their age.

"Alright," interrupted Faramir, "let's not presume to ask someone their age when you've barely met them. We need our rest. Men, back to your posts."

After a short session of roasting Faramir for being a party pooper, the men gave in and left wishing them a goodnight.

She was honestly surprised at their hospitality. Faramir was right: they were very welcoming.


End file.
